MASTERCHEF PARTY - PRESS CLUB

The Press Club organised a 'MasterChef' Party in their restaurant last night. http://www.masterchef.com.au/home.htm

George Calombaris and Matt Preston were accompanied by most of the show's contestants, including winner Julie and her runner up Poh.

The gig was a cocktail party and the atmosphere was totally relaxed. George greeted all guests personally; Matt was really friendly and gave us some restaurant tips in Melbourne; Julie was simply lovely.

Matt with the contestants

George monopolizing the microphone

My husband and I (and pretty much everyone else that we know) were addicted to the show and watched every episode. It was funny meeting all of them in person. Everyone was relaxed and it kind of felt like catching up with old friends. (btw, I know this sounds ridiculous). I ran into Sam and was sure I knew him from somewhere - oh yes, the show!!!

As the champagne and wine kept flowing and we kept talking to the MasterChef crew, I kind of forgot to take pictures of the food - I wasn't really taking this blogging job seriously :(

Magnum bottles of wine

This is actually pretty embarrassing, but the only food picture I took was from the first item served, a delicious raw oyster served on a bed of white wine jelly and topped with sweet pickles.

Oysters

Other items included bone-marrow cigars, quail legs wrapped in vine leaves and served with tahini dressing, stuffed pasta served on a light cherry tomato base and topped with crispy shrimp, chocolate tart topped with mastic. The latter was particularly delicious: it was a tiny serve of this really rich, creamy chocolate mousse on top a paper-fine crusty base. The mastic added another dimension to the dish - it was exactly like what they kept saying on the show about adding a dash of salt to a sweet dessert to enhance its flavour.

Wish I could include a better description of the food served & pictures. It was all so good! Inspiring MasterChef night. I'm now looking forward to going to the Press Club restaurant for dinner. If the food is anything like what was served tonight, it will be an amazing meal.